gringa musings from a rooftop terrace in Oaxaca

With the women and children

It’s Carnaval time in Teotitlán del Valle. Yes, I know, Easter was last Sunday and Lent is over. However, like many other things (e.g., not going on Daylight Saving Time), this Zapotec village does things their own way. Thus, instead of celebrating Carnaval the day before Lent begins, they celebrate for the five days following Easter! As I’ve written about previously, Carnaval in Teotitlán is a major production that indeed takes a village; young and old, female and male all have parts to play in the festivities that include music, masked men, mezcal, and mouthwatering mole.

Yesterday, rather than sitting with the men and scattering of male and female extranjeros, gal pal J and I hung out with the women and children in the outdoor kitchen that had been set up in the back of the large earthen courtyard. There the women prepared enough chicken, mole amarillo, and tortillas to feed one hundred!

The seemingly always well-behaved kids played and took care of the babies while their mamas and abuelas worked.

Muchisimas gracias to the women and children of Teotitlán del Valle’s Segunda Sección for being so gracious and welcoming.

2 Responses

It was interesting to return to Alaska during all the festivities of Oaxaca. There is nothing festive here (and probably in much of the US) and one wouldn’t even know it was Easter had the peeps and chocolate bunnies not been for sale. I’m sure part of it is that so many people do not share traditions, but still…it’s just kind of sad.